Rule. After su and the roots that follow it in the Dhātupāṭha, the affix śnu comes. It comes before a sārvadhātuka affix that denotes the agent. It is an apavāda of śap: an exception that takes śap's place.
"Denoting the agent" is carried forward from kartari śap (SK 2167). "Before a sārvadhātuka" is carried forward from sārvadhātuke yak (SK 2756), taught later. Bhaṭṭoji's commentators supply both words.
The root. The first root is (1247) ṣuñ, in the sense abhiṣava. That word covers four meanings: bathing someone, pressing, bathing oneself, and distilling liquor. In the sense "bathing oneself" the root is akarmaka: it takes no object. The root is stated with an initial ṣ, which becomes s, so it is su. Its marker ñ makes it take both sets of endings. Bhaṭṭoji's commentators add that the roots from here up to dhuñ (1255) are ñ-marked too, and so take both sets. The root is aniṭ.
Example.
su + laṭ → su + tip
→ śnu comes before the sārvadhātuka tip (this rule): su + śnu + ti
→ the ś is it: su + nu + ti
→ nu is śit, so it is sārvadhātuka; it is not pit, so it is ṅit (SK 2234); the root's u takes no guṇa before it
→ tip is pit, so nu takes guṇa before it: su + no + ti
→ sunoti "he presses".
Before tas, the ending is ṅit, so nu takes no guṇa: sunutaḥ "they two press".
Before a vowel:
sunu + anti → uvaṅ (uv for u) would be expected before a vowel
→ yaṇ comes instead, by SK 2387: v for u
→ sunvanti "they press".
Before m and v the u may be lost, by SK 2333:
sunu + vas → sunvaḥ or sunuvaḥ "we two press".
In the ātmanepada: sunvahe or sunuvahe.
Other forms. Bhaṭṭoji lists them bare.
- liṭ:
suṣāva(parasmaipada),suṣuve(ātmanepada). - luṭ:
sotā. It has no iṭ, which shows that the root is aniṭ. - loṭ, second person singular:
sunu. The ending hi is deleted by SK 2334. - loṭ, first person singular:
sunavāni; ātmanepadasunavai. See Watch out. - vidhiliṅ:
sunuyāt. The augment yāsuṭ is ṅit, so nu takes no guṇa. - āśīrliṅ:
sūyāt. The root vowel is lengthened by SK 2298. - luṅ:
asāvīt. The root is aniṭ, so iṭ would be barred, but SK 2385 gives it. Ātmanepadaasoṣṭa.
With an upasarga.
abhi + sunoti → abhiṣuṇoti. The s becomes ṣ after the upasarga, by SK 2270. The n then becomes ṇ, because it follows the ṣ.abhyaṣuṇot(laṅ). The ṣ comes even though the augment aṭ stands between, by SK 2276.abhisuṣāva(liṭ). The abhyāsa takes no ṣ, by the restriction in SK 2277. The second part takes ṣ by SK 212.
Watch out. In sunavāni two rules compete. The first person takes the augment āṭ (SK 2204), and āṭ is pit. So the ending is not ṅit, and nu is due for guṇa. But the ending begins with a vowel, so SK 2387 is due to give yaṇ. Guṇa wins because it is the later rule (paratva). Bhaṭṭoji's commentators both say so.
sunu + āni → guṇa: suno + āni → av for o: sunavāni "let me press".
Not sunvāni.
(1247) ṣuñ — in abhiṣava. abhiṣava is bathing [someone] (snapana), pressing (pīḍana), bathing [oneself] (snāna) and distilling liquor (surāsaṃdhāna). Of these, in [the sense of] bathing [oneself] it is intransitive (akarmaka). sunoti [laṭ, prathama-puruṣa singular: the root has no guṇa, since śnu, being śit and so sārvadhātuka, is ṅit by sārvadhātukam apit (SK 2234); śnu itself takes guṇa before tip]. sunutaḥ [prathama-puruṣa dual: tas is ṅit, so śnu has no guṇa]. yaṇ [for the u of śnu, instead of uvaṅ,] by huśnuvoḥ… (SK 2387): sunvanti [prathama-puruṣa plural]. sunvaḥ, sunuvaḥ [uttama-puruṣa dual, the u optionally deleted by lopaś cāsyānyatarasyāṃ mvoḥ, SK 2333]. sunvahe, sunuvahe [ātmanepada, uttama-puruṣa dual, likewise]. suṣāva [liṭ, parasmaipada]. suṣuve [liṭ, ātmanepada]. sotā [luṭ; the root is aniṭ]. sunu [loṭ, madhyama-puruṣa singular: hi is elided by utaś ca pratyayāt…, SK 2334]. sunavāni [loṭ, uttama-puruṣa singular: guṇa, as the later rule, overrides the yaṇ of huśnuvoḥ…, since āṭ, being pit, is not ṅit]. sunavai [loṭ, ātmanepada, uttama-puruṣa singular, likewise]. sunuyāt [vidhiliṅ: yāsuṭ is ṅit, so śnu has no guṇa]. sūyāt [āśīrliṅ: lengthening by akṛtsārvadhātukayor dīrghaḥ, SK 2298]. iṭ by stusudhūñbhyaḥ… (SK 2385) [where the prohibition of iṭ would otherwise apply]: asāvīt [luṅ, parasmaipada]. asoṣṭa [luṅ, ātmanepada]. abhiṣuṇoti [ṣ by upasargāt sunoti… (SK 2270); ṇ because it follows ṣ]. abhyaṣuṇot [ṣ even with aṭ intervening, by prāk sitād aḍvyavāye 'pi, SK 2276]. abhisuṣāva [the abhyāsa has no ṣ, by the restriction in sthādiṣv abhyāsena cābhyāsasya (SK 2277); the second member has ṣ by ādeśapratyayayoḥ, SK 212].
- commentary BM glosses the sūtra 'kartrarthe sārvadhātuke svādibhyaḥ śnuḥ syāt' and adds 'śapo 'pavādaḥ'. Followed: the supplied conditions are bracketed in sutra_en as carried forward, and śnu is called an apavāda of śap.
- commentary BM on sunoti / sunutaḥ: śnu (ś an it) is sārvadhātuka by being śit and hence ṅit by 'sārvadhātukam apit', so the root takes no guṇa before it; śnu takes guṇa relying on tip; tas is ṅit, so śnu has no guṇa. On huśnuvoḥ: with sunu + anti standing, uvaṅ by 'aci śnudhātu…' is apprehended, hence the citation of huśnuvoḥ. Followed for the brackets on sunoti, sunutaḥ and sunvanti.
- commentary BM on sunvaḥ sunuvaḥ and sunvahe sunuvahe: optional deletion of u by 'lopaś cāsyānyatarasyāṃ mvoḥ'; likewise sunmaḥ sunumaḥ, sunmahe sunumahe. BM also supplies the laṭ ātmanepada, liṭ (suṣuvatuḥ, suṣavitha / suṣotha, suṣuve, suṣuvāte …), loṭ and laṅ paradigms. Followed for the bracket on the optional deletion; the extra forms are recorded, not added.
- commentary BM: sotā indicates that the root is aniṭ; sunu — luk of hi by 'utaś ca pratyayāt'; sunavāni and sunavai — guṇa by paratva overrides the yaṇ of 'huśnuvoḥ', because āṭ, being pit, is not ṅit; sunuyāt — yāsuṭ is ṅit, so no guṇa of śnu; sūyāt — lengthening by 'akṛtsārvadhātukayoḥ'; asāvīt — iṭ by 'stusudhūñbhyaḥ' where the prohibition of iṭ for sic would apply; abhiṣuṇoti — ṣ by 'upasargāt sunoti…', ṇ because it follows ṣ; abhyaṣuṇot — ṣ by 'prāk sitād aḍvyavāye 'pi'; abhisuṣāva — no ṣ for the abhyāsa by the restriction (niyama) of 'sthādiṣv abhyāsena…', ṣ for the second member by 'ādeśapratyayayoḥ'. Followed for all these brackets.
- commentary TB (sk.2523.t1, headed 'ṣuñ'; re-filed from the tail of sk.2522.t1 on 2026-10-05): sunvaḥ — the u is optionally deleted by 'lopaś cāsya…'; sunavāni — after āṭ is made by 'āḍuttamasya…', guṇa by paratva overrides the yaṇ of 'huśnuvoḥ'. Agrees with BM; followed.
- commentary BM preamble, present in the Wikisource witness (uttara-2/0047) but absent from our sk.2523.b1: 'Now the roots with the vikaraṇa śnu are treated. ṣuñ is ṣopadeśa and aniṭ; from here on, being ñit, [the roots] are ubhayapadin. surāsandhāna — that is, producing liquor (surotpādana).' Followed: 'distilling liquor'.
- textual Our dhātu entry reads 'ṣuñ aṅiṣave'; the print reads 'ṣuñ abhiṣave' (NSP p. 406, scan page-0416, read; collation batch02, class A), which the gloss 'abhiṣavaḥ …' that follows requires. The English follows the print. Our dhātu numbers run one lower than the print (print 1248 ṣuñ, ours 1247); the English gives the numbers as transmitted.
- textual Scan check, NSP p. 406 (scan page-0416, read): the print heads the gaṇa 'tiṅante svādayaḥ 45' and prints the dhātu entry (with its gloss) before the sūtra; the forms from sunoti to abhisuṣāva match ours, including the cross-references 2387 and 2385.
- translator The sources of 'kartari' and 'sārvadhātuke' (SK 2167, SK 2756) are the translator's identification; BM only supplies the words. The lakāra and puruṣa labels are the translator's. (1247) is the Dhātupāṭha number as transmitted in our text.